Choice before the Taliban

WITH the unanimous adoption of the Security Council resolution on Friday, all UN members now stand duty-bound to help in the world community’s fight against terrorism. Failure to do so means the international community can use force to flush out terrorists in a given country. So comprehensive is the resolution that a country failing to discharge its responsibilities runs the risk of total international isolation. With the sole exception of the fact that the word “terrorism” has not been defined, the resolution embodies the resolve of the world community to combat the menace in all its forms. From denying bases and harbouring terrorists to preventing them from collecting funds, the resolution makes it obligatory on UN members to assist in criminal investigations involving terrorists. Moreover, it authorizes the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the resolution on “a continuous basis.”

While the resolution applies to all states, it concerns Afghanistan the most in the present context because it harbours Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network. Osama is the prime suspect in the Sept 11 acts of terrorism in the US that left over six thousand civilians belonging to forty-one nationalities dead. Pakistan, because of its close ties with them, has been urging the Taliban to hand him over to a third country. But they have refused to do so. Since the Sept 11 tragedy, the Taliban have also contradicted themselves. First they said that Osama had disappeared somewhere into Afghanistan and they did not know his whereabouts. The latest, however, is the Taliban ambassador’s statement in Islamabad on Sunday saying that he was under their protection. Having done that, they have no option but to comply with the Security Council resolution and hand over Osama for trial. Their failure to do so would mean the international community will be within its right to use force to secure Osama bin Laden’s custody.

As a UN member, Pakistan has perforce to discharge its obligations under the resolution. In the past, it has upheld UN sanctions against Afghanistan, despite enjoying a close relationship with the Taliban. Under the present situation, Pakistan must redouble its efforts to make the Taliban see reason and cooperate with the world community. Should the Taliban persist in their present mood of defiance, they would invite serious trouble for themselves and their country. The people of Afghanistan today are a most miserable lot. Thanks to continuous fighting for the last twenty-two years, their country is in ruins, while millions have fled the country to seek refuge elsewhere, especially Pakistan.

Today, the sole concern of their government should be to alleviate their suffering. Cooperation with the world coalition against terrorism will not only avert the unpredictable consequences of an invasion of Afghanistan; it may also spare the Taliban the immediate danger of retaliatory action for non-compliance. Indeed, they could make things somewhat easier for themselves by being amenable to the formation of a broad-based government acceptable to all sections of the population. Such a government alone can help establish peace and concord in the country on a durable basis.

Saving the heart

THE world heart day on Sunday came as a reminder of the urgent need to address the problem posed by cardiovascular diseases in Pakistan. Some of the statistics cited at the proceedings organized by the Council of Cardiology Institutes of Pakistan (CCIP) are horrifying. It is said that nearly one-third of all deaths in the country are due to heart disease, and one per cent of the babies born here, five per cent of school-age children, and 14 per cent of the adult population suffer from one or the other form of cardiac disorder. With this rising incidence, doctors are now warning against an impending epidemic which would be no less than a health disaster, given its social and economic costs.

The most distressing aspect of the situation is that no concerted efforts have been made to combat heart disease when it can be quite easily prevented at no high cost. Preventive measures for cardiac problems are entirely dependent on the individuals’ change of lifestyle. The primary cause of the high incidence of heart disease in Pakistan is the fat-saturated, high-salt diet of the people and their lack of physical exercise. Smoking is another factor which has been relentlessly promoted by cigarette companies, despite its proven ill-effects on the people’s health. It is a positive development that the health professionals are now speaking up and appealing to the people to pay heed to the need for a change in lifestyle. Given the low public awareness of the cardiac diseases and their causes, the need of the hour is health education. This calls for a planned strategy for which the policy makers, with the help of cardiologists, should set the direction.

Two approaches can be adopted. One is to launch a campaign of health education about heart disease through all channels available — the media, educational institutions and the general physicians. These can be used to inform, guide and motivate the people to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The second line of strategy should be for the CCIP to devise a programme for interpersonal communication at the community level. Teams of health visitors should be deployed to reach out to families to explain the close relationship between lifestyle and cardiac problems. This preventive strategy will in the long run prove to be more effective than expensive treatment for people who have already fallen victims to heart ailments.

Death in custody

THE death in NAB (National Accountability Bureau) custody of PPP leader Mian Mohammad Arshad on Sunday is a tragic occurrence. It has put a question mark on the methods adopted by this outfit during investigation of suspects involved in corruption cases. The Bureau was expectedly quick to point out that death was caused by cardiac arrest during interrogation, but close relatives of the deceased have alleged that torture was the cause of death. The son of the deceased has said that his father had sustained four injuries — one on his left eyebrow, one in his head and one round his neck and that he was bleeding profusely from the nose. Sources at the city morgue have reportedly confirmed that there were marks of torture on Mian Arshad’s body, which makes the charge all the more serious warranting thorough investigation. Credence to it is lent by the fact that torture and other forms of physical and mental abuse applied against suspects, whether to extract information or just to humiliate them, have become routine in such cases.

Resort to such methods cannot be ruled out in the case in question. NAB, moreover, is a military-dominated body and law enforcers assisting it may be acting in an overzealous manner to impress their bosses. The deceased in any case was under intense pressure from the investigation authorities, having been summoned a number of times after the arrest of his friend and PPP leader, Mr Jehangir Badar, two months ago in a corruption case. Moreover, Mian Arshad’s son has been quoted as saying that the NAB authorities had been trying to force his father to turn approver against Mr Badar. This is what makes the incident even more disquieting. There is understandably great grief and resentment in political circles over the tragedy. Only a high-level judicial probe can shed light on the cause of the death and bring the guilty to book.